Three Simple Words
by bethe1tosay
Summary: Alisha Woods is finally able to live her dream... to dance ballet professionally. At the ABT, she meets gorgeous Josh Caveizal... Just a little romance.
1. Default Chapter

I'm saying that this is from a misc. movie... but it's not. Heheh. I just wanted to keep my work together and if anyone wanted to read it, they wouldn't have to search very hard.  
I was greatly, greatly pleased with all the reviews I got for my Legolas fanfic. I will be writing another one, later. I'm still trying to better and get more detailed and graphic in my writings. It's rather difficult. I got told I had talent, people liked my story, and were generally pleased with the outcome of my writing. So... I'm writing something completely different, something I've had simmering in my head for quite a while. And okay... this is about ballet, and my knowledge on dance and moves, etc. is well, really really rusty, so please don't leave comments about how it's really wrong... just go with it. Thanks :).  
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This story is about a young woman named Alisha. Her dream is to be prima ballerina, but it's difficult with her life. With an emotionally and physically abusive mother and no father, Alisha has to work to pay for her ballet classes and college classes. She has a lot of talent, and just needs guidance. One day, Alisha is discovered by the ABT (American Ballet Theatre) and is granted full scholarship to study dance and dance with the most talented ballet in America. There she meets Joshua Caveziel, a twenty-three year old Irish Frenchman. Joshua is mysterious, mind stimulating, and even though arrogant, he seems lost. Alisha has feelings she never thought possible for anyone now, and thus her story begins......... 


	2. Alisha

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day!  
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Alisha Wood's pencil tapped against the metal ring in the middle of her binder. Her mind was not on the class, or the monotone voice flowing out of her art teacher's mouth that day, but on the class she would be taking in a couple of hours.  
She chewed on her gum thoughtfully, completely unaware of the annoyed looks she earned from the other students because of her tapping. She leaned her cheek on her left hand and half closed her eyes. She began thinking of the difficult steps of the new ballet she was learning. Alisha had never been in any large show, only a few Christmas plays every now and then for drama and once or twice for ballet. She longed for the life she knew she could only dream about...  
"Alisha?" She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder. "Alisha? Hello... anyone awake in there?"   
Alisha looked up into the bright blue eyes of Amanda West, her best friend. "Hmm?"  
"Come on, class is over... time for ballet." Amanda laughed and shook her head. "Did you pay attention to the class at all?"  
Alisha gave a slight chuckle as she closed her notebook and gathered all her things together. She slung her tan-coloured leather book bag over her side and replied, "No, actually... why?"  
"Mr. Nealson gave lecture notes for the final coming up."  
Alisha groaned as she pulled the keys to her Camry out of her jacket pocket as they stepped outside. It was a windy day, and Alisha's hair blew slightly around her face. She brushed it away and unlocked the car and watched as Amanda climbed into the passengers seat.  
She finally sat down and rested her hands on the steering wheel. Barely 5'4, Alisha had a small, delicate build. Under her yellow shirt with Woodstock imprinted on the front, she wore a black leotard. Although Alisha didn't realize it, she possessed an ethereal, almost otherworldly beauty. She had vivid green eyes and shoulder-length wavy brown hair with a red tint. Full lips and a slim, cute nose completed her face.  
Alisha started the car, and soft music spilled out the windows. She and Amanda immediately began to hum along to Evanescence, and Alisha drove out of the parking space and onto the road.  
  
Twenty minutes later, they reached the outskirts of downtown. Next to the mall was a long street with businesses and offices. At the end was Ophelia's. A tall, skinny brick building with three floors. It was beautiful to Alisha. With a huge window with a window box blooming with brightly coloured flowers in front, next to the glass door, and six windows per each upper floor. Inside, there were polished oak floors. Downstairs, where the secretary worked and dancers checked in, there were settees and plush chairs with potted plants. The secretary worked at an antique cherry desk and took calls and wrote down messages for Madame Ophelia.   
Upstairs, where Amanda and Alisha headed, the two rooms were large and wide and open. The windows were lined with long, white silk curtains and the three opposite walls were lined with walls and barres and benches.   
Already, thirteen other pointe students were warming up. Madame Ophelia looked over at them. She was incredibly tiny, barely 5'2 and maybe one hundred pounds. Today she wore a bone-coloured leotard over pink tights and ballet slippers. Her hair was up in a tight bun and her face was beautiful, no wrinkles graced her forty-one year old skin. Turning around, Ophelia glided over to greet them.  
"Hello, ladies." She said in a slightly accented voice. "Please, hurry and change. I have something to say to the class." The latter she said loudly, so the girls all stopped and gathered around.  
While Alisha and Amanda changed out of their street clothes, Madame Ophelia gestured gracefully with her slender hands. "Ladies, tomorrow, the ABT is coming here to our studio in Chicago to choose a select few to go to New York with them."   
A hushed excitement fell over the eighteen- and nineteen-year-old girls as Alisha and Amanda walked over to join them. "The ABT and I have been arranging this for about two months now, and I would have told you all sooner but I thought it should be challenging." Her catlike gray eyes scanned the group of slender women. Her face broke into a gracious smile. "I'm thinking it will be very hard for them to choose. Now, practice today, ladies, will be what they will want to be tomorrow. First position," she began, all business. 


	3. Therese and Vodka

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day!  
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Alisha parked her Camry in the small garage and went into the three-bedroom house. Her mother worked in an antique shop downtown... sometimes. The manager was a dear friend of Alishas and her mothers, so she understood when Therese, Alisha's mother, wasn't quite able to come to work. She still sent her a paycheck every other week. Alisha knew she owed Manie, the manager and friend, her life.  
Alisha climbed out of the car and lifted her bag out of the back. She was wearing a loose shirt that was soaked with a v of sweat from collar to hem. She was still exhilarated, as she got every time she danced. Even through the pain, the bleeding and cramping toes and cramped calves and thigh muscles, she loved everything about ballet. The movement, the grace, the beauty it made her feel. Who else would notice the two tiny steps before a /I? Only a dancer.   
Alisha's heart clenched at the thought of ever having to stop. Without it, her life would be pure misery. Even though she had a select few friends and a job in a nice little bookstore on Main, her life at home caused her pain worse than the terrible cramps.  
Unlocking the back door and hurrying to lock it and rush to the bathroom before her mother could come out, she quickly dropped her clothes into a hamper in the tiny laundry room by the back door, but as she was about to close the door she heard that clank of ice in a glass and something pound against the wall.  
"Alisha? Is that you?" Slurred words drifted from the small, harshly lit hallway.  
"Yes, Mum, it's me..." Sighing, she walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a bottle of water. IToo late.../IShe thought. Her mother slinked through the archway into the kitchen, wearing a terry cloth robe and her hair in curlers. Her eyes were half shut and bloodshot, and in her hand a small glass filled with vodka and ice.   
Therese eyed her daughter up and down. Her long, slender but shapely legs were clad in black tights and her shirt was sweaty. She met her daughter's eyes. "Where the hell have you been?"  
"Class, mother, you know that."   
Therese tripped over her own feet as she walked over to the small island in the middle of the kitchen. She set her glass down hard, causing a clank to echo through the house. Therese grabbed onto it for balance. "Really?" She said, in a long, mocking sound. Therese gave a short laugh. "Stupid, stupid girl. Wasting our money on shit you don't need." Straightening, she walked over to her daughter.   
Therese was slim, pretty when she wasn't drunk, with long, curly red hair and blue eyes. But ever since Alisha's father had left with that young, cheap piece of ass... Therese suddenly struck out and slapped her daughter across the face. "Stupid, worthless girl." She spat out at Alisha who was sprawled on the floor from the force of the blow. "This is why your father left... Couldn't stand to see you starve yourself so you could dance. How the fuck do I even know you dance? I've never seen... You're probably just having sex with some boy..." Therese looked completely confused all of a sudden, and then looked at her daughter, although Alisha felt as though her mother wasn't really seeing her.  
Therese suddenly cleared her throat, and pressed a hand to her forehead. She turned and walked out of the kitchen.  
Alisha waited until she heard the slam of a door before getting up. She walked over to the sink and leaned over and the tight knot in her throat began to choke her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob. Walking to her bedroom and not bothering with a shower, Alisha curled up in a ball and cried herself to sleep. 


	4. The ABT

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day!  
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Just a lil note... Hi! These first few chapters are gonna be like really fast paced and short... Just like, straight to the point so they aren't going to be all descriptive and stuff. Just trying to get into the story, and get to the action. I think you'll like the later chaps... Thanks for reading! -Ashie.  
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IArabesque, pirouette, arabesque, pirouette. Plie! /I  
After two hours of strenuous work, Alisha was ready to go home but her body still wanted to dance. The class would be over in thirty minutes.  
"Alisha," Madame Ophelia instructed the girls to continue dancing before coming over to her. She placed one hand lightly on her shoulder and began quietly, "You are one of my finest ballerinas, and it will hurt me to see you leave, I know you will go to New York." Ophelia suddenly gathered Alisha close. "I see the way the group from ABT watch you." She was the only person who knew, and understood, about Alisha's life. "Good luck, darling," she whispered as she kissed Alisha's forehead before walking back to the front of the class.   
Alisha's muscles suddenly loosened, and she was ready for much, much more dancing. Excitement mixed with fear flowed through her veins as she danced for the ABT. They watched, they scrutinized, they criticized. She hoped they liked what they saw.   
Marie started playing Arabesque by Claude Debussy and Madame Ophelia clapped her hands. "Leah, Jezelle, Laurie, and Alisha, take first position in the middle of the room, please."  
The four of them took place in the middle of the room, and Alisha felt sweat trickle down her back. So many eyes were staring, and she was suddenly terrified.  
"Now, begin."  
The four of them moved together in unison, a graceful, beautiful mix of twists and leaps and pirouettes. They had danced for hours the other night to get the moves down and memorized.  
At the end of the song, there was slight applause, and another group of girls took their place. They did the same dance, and got the same response.  
Alisha was sitting in a chair when suddenly she felt a towel being placed around her neck. She looked up and smiled as Amanda bent down to kiss her forehead and then her mouth softly. "You were so beautiful, Alisha. If only I could dance like you."   
Alisha kissed her friend's cheek. She had known Amanda since she was very young, when they had both started this class actually, and was very open with her. "You can, even better." She reached up to rub the back of Amanda's hand before lacing her fingers with her friends.   
"I'm up next," Amanda sighed. And when she was called, walked gracefully forward to take her place.  
Alisha watched her best friend dance, and dance beautifully she did. In the middle of the song, Alisha watched Amanda's feet suddenly fumble, and she fell forward and twisted onto her back. There was a sudden, sharp snap, causing Alisha to gasp as she got up and raced to Amanda.  
Amanda lay back and tears squeezed out of the side of her eyes. She had broken her left arm when she tried to break the fall, Alisha realized.  
Madame Ophelia clapped her hands and the crowd of girls backed off into little circles. Ophelia leaned down to check Amanda's arm, and several girls helped her up while Marie called a doctor.  
"Oh, dear... Oh, dear..." Alisha heard Madame Ophelia mutter under her breath. Alisha looked over at the ABT members, who were scribbling like mad on their notebooks. She wanted to cry herself, a ballerina couldn't dance with a broken arm...  
Alisha looked out the window a few minutes later and saw a couple of cars drive away and down the street. She put her hand on the window pane and closed her eyes. Amanda could dance so beautifully, but now... She looked over at the ABT members. Amanda would have to wait until next year.  
Alisha slid down the wall to the floor and sat, resting her arms upon her knees. It seemed as though anyone who came in contact with her got hurt.  
Why did she deserve this? 


	5. The Good News

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day! ************************************************************************  
  
Two days later, Amanda gave Alisha a bright smile as they walked out of the art room. "Today's the day!"  
Alisha gave a small smile. "If I do make it, it should have been you."   
Amanda gave a mock gasp and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Moi? Me? Ah, no, no, no, no, no.... Mademoiselle, you do not understand." She gave a thick French accent. "You are ze prima ballerina, you are ze one! Do you not undar-stand?" She laughed and pushed at Alisha lightly with her right arm. "Come on, lighten up. We'll see each other. I'll even move to New York once the semesters over. Chicago is so dreary, honey."  
Alisha smiled at her friend. "But I can't be prima ballerina without you."  
Amanda gave a sad smile, although sarcasm was how she usually dealt with these kind of situations, she knew that wasn't what Alisha needed right now. Alisha had a fresh bruise on the side of her right eye this morning, from "slipping in the kitchen".   
"Hun, please." She stopped and grabbed Alisha's shoulders. "Listen to me, look at me." Amanda waited until Alisha's green eyes met hers. "You can dance, you are absolutely wonderful at it. All you need is some strict direction and every day classes, and I know you will be a legend of sorts. You've always trusted me, right?"  
Alisha's eyes shown bright with tears. "I'm just scared, that's all."  
Amanda laughed and hugged her friend, then grabbed her hand as they continued walking. "Of course you are, it's natural! Now shut up and let's get some frozen yogurt before class."  
Alisha smiled and let her friend lead her to the car.  
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Alisha sat with her legs folded beneath her next to Amanda on the polished wood floor, holding her hand. Her black tights stretched over her skin and perspiration spotted her forehead.  
"Good evening, I am Steven Ennio, director of the American Ballet Theatre." Steven Ennio was a handsome man, a little under six feet with a lean, strong build. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair. He was a dancer until a few years ago, when he took up the job of art director and manager.   
"Tonight we choose who I will take back with me in two weeks, to New York. It was a very difficult decision for me and my associates to make in such a short period of time, but we have done it." He looked around the group of women. He began reading off a list of names, and the last name was "Alisha Wood". Amanda tightened her grip on Alisha's hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I told you!" She whispered excitedly.  
Alisha sat in shock, barely moving as the other girls got up to began exercises and stretches. She was going to New York... 


	6. The Letter

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day! ************************************************************************  
Alisha hung up the phone gently and moved back to the bed. Placebo played quietly in the background and she tried to make as little noise as possible so she wouldn't disturb her mother.   
She hadn't told her mother about going to New York yet, and she didn't really think she would. Alisha wondered if her mother would even notice her daughter was gone. She will once she needs something to beat up on...Alisha thought bitterly. She moved to her small closet and began to fold shirts and jeans into the large suitcases on her bed. She had two days left before she got onto the plane that would take her to her future.  
Alisha's hands shook. What if it was too difficult? What if she didn't fit in?   
She took a deep, soothing breath. Everything will be fine...  
As she moved to the bathroom connected to her room, she began to pack her makeup and toiletries. She was about to go back into her room when she heard her mother's feet scuffing down the hall. She waited silently as her mother went slowly past her bedroom.  
Please go to bed, please go to bed,she prayed silently. She heard her mother pause at her door, then keep moving down the hall. Alisha didn't move until she heard her mother's door close. She gave a deep sigh of relief then went back into her room.  
Alisha's hands shook violently, and tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to leave Amanda, but she couldn't wait to get out of Chicago, to get out of the house she couldn't call a home. She sat on the edge of her small bed, and looked out the window as she finished folding a red shirt. She stood up and placed the shirt in a suitcase as she got out a notebook from her book bag. She began to write...  
  
Dear Mother,  
When you get this letter, I will be in New York. I have been accepted to the American Ballet Theatre, and I didn't know how to tell you in person. I am sorry for not telling you in person, by the way. I don't know how to word this the right way, but just know that I am fine and having the time of my life. Who knows, maybe one day you'll get to see a poster of me somewhere around Chicago saying I'm staring in my first big play? I hope you're proud of me, Mama. I'm scared, but I know what I'm doing. I'll see you later.  
-Your Daughter  
  
Carefully laying it down on her desk, Alisha packed everything in her room into the three suitcases. She picked one up and quietly opened her door and walked out into the garage. She popped the trunk to her Camry, and made two more trips back to her room, her heart pounding in her throat. When she was done, she quietly closed the trunk and opened the garage. Alisha locked the door, and backed out. She would stay at Amanda's until it was time to leave.   
With no regrets, she knew she was on her way. 


	7. Mony

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day! ************************************************************************  
  
Alisha stood with the wind blowing around her. She had spent two nights at Amanda's house, and now she stood outside Madame Ophelia's. Alisha had refused to let Amanda come, because she refused to cry any more than she already had. It was seven in the morning, and Ophelia was driving Alisha and two other girls to the airport to meet the other students.   
Alisha sat in the passangers seat, and the whole time, stared out the window while she heard the distant chatter of the other women. II can't believe it, I'm actually doing it, I'm getting away from this.../IShe couldn't wait.   
A little while later, the sedan pulled into the airport. Inside the glass doors, Alisha could see a huge group of people and flight check scheduals. She leaned over and kissed Ophelia's cheek. "I'll go alone."  
Ophelia stared at her best student. "Are you sure?"  
"The eight thirty to NYC, right?"  
Ophelia pursed her lips and then reached over to brush stray hairs behind Alisha's ears. She nodded and then looked down, and gathered Alisha close. "You will be prima ballerina, just watch." She whispered.  
Alisha refused to cry, so she smiled and opened the car door. She went around to the trunk, got out her two suit cases, she had repacked at Amanda's, and made her way into the airport.  
Fourty five minutes later, Alisha was on the plane along with a rather large group of ballerinas. She sat in a window seat, next to young, pretty girl named Mony.   
Mony came from England. She was a beautiful girl, with light brown skin, she was half white half black, with deep chocolate coloured eyes and a delicately boned, lean body.   
They didn't talk much, because Alisha was too over taken my emotion.  
"Aren't you glad to get out of here?" Mony said with a brilliant smile, gesturing with her hands.  
Alisha nodded. Glad was an understatement.  
Her future was so bleak, so uncertain, but at the same time, she knew it had to be bright. Ophelia didn't toss around compliments like that.   
  
When they reached New York, Alisha borrowed Mony's cell phone and called Amanda for two minutes to tell her she had made it.  
"I can't believe it. It looks like Chicago, only... larger, more... I don't know it's just more!" Alisha breathed into the phone.  
Amanda gave a little cry. "I am going to miss you so much, Lish."  
Alisha felt the itchy tears that sprang to her eyes. "I'll miss you, too, honey. I'll call you once I get to the Theatre."  
"Okay. Be careful, and God, good luck. I love you!"  
"I love you, too. Maybe I'll see you soon? Bye."  
She hung up the cell phone and handed it over to Mony. "I'm sorry if that costs an arm and a leg, I'll pay for it when you..."  
Mony raised her slender hand. "No, don't worry about it." She wrapped an arm around Alisha's shoulder. "Since I don't know you and you don't know me, consider me your new best friend." Mony grinned and Alisha noted that she had a slight British accent that Alisha hadn't caught before.  
Alisha was a little hesitant... She had never given her trust easily, ever actually... and this new experience was a breaking point. Her mother could hurt her, scream at her, tug at the strings of her heart, but she wouldn't ruin the best experience of her life.  
Smiling back at Mony, Alisha wrapped her arm around Mony's waist. "I can do that." They made their ways to the separate vans that would take then to the Theatre. 


	8. The Rooms

*Disclaimer Note: These are my characters, so yep, I own them because, well... I created them. If you take them or use them, please tell me by emailing me, or I will fuck you up. Thank you :) and have a nice day! ************************************************************************  
Sorry so short! In a hurry!  
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They had gone through the ritual of arriving, getting the long speeches from the directors of the Theatre and lectures from the coaches, and the dancers had just gotten asigned their small apartments throughout the main floors.  
Mony and Alisha ended up in the same room, and both declared it was fate and an absolute miracle.  
"Ah, it's fate!" Mony declared as she threw down her suitcases and Adidas sports bag. She reached over and tapped Alisha's arm. "See?"   
They smiled at each other and Alisha placed her own suitcases on the futon and looked around. It was a small room, with a walk in closet and a bathroom and a tiny fridge. On the far wall was a window, with a cute, painted desk and chair beneath the window; the walls were painted beige and there was a small futon and bunk beds.   
"Not bad." Alisha said.  
"Hell of a tiny space, though." Mony commented. "I get bottom bunk!"  
Alisha let out a quick laugh. "Bottom? Don't usually people jump first at the top?"  
"Yes, but they're dumb because they don't realize the bottom's bigger." Winking, Mony grinned and began to unzip her bags.  
"Well, then..." Alisha gave a little laugh. "Top bunk it is!"  
Mony walked over and turned on the radio, and The Red by Chevelle filled the room. The girls began to talk of 'the guys' they had seen around.... They unpacked with excitement tinging the air. 


End file.
